Cable railway



(N0 Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

G. R. RATTO.

CABLE RAILWAY. No. 424,500. Patented Apr. 1, 1800.

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G. R. RATTO.

@ABLE RAILWAY.

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

Patsnted Apr. l, 1890.

UNITED STATES ATnNT Prion.

GASPER R. RATTO, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CABLE RAILWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming pm of Letters Patent No. 424,500, dated April 1,1890. Application filed January 13, 1890. Serial No. 336,769. (No model.)

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CASPER R. RATTO, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook, in the State of Illinois, and a citizen of the United States, have invented aV new and useful Improvement in Cable Railways, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a longitudinal section at line l l of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is an under side View of the bridge and the operating parts thereon. Fig. 3 is an enlarged det-ail, being a top View of the operating parts at one end of the bridge; and Fig. 4 is a detail.

This invention relates to cable railways'.

The object of my invention is to provide improved means for enabling cable railways to be operated across swing-bridges, which I accomplish as illustrated in the drawings, and hereinafter fullydescribed.

That which I claim as new will be set forth in the claims.

In the drawings, A represents a swingbridge, which is to be supported upon the usual center pier. I have not shown a center pier, but have shown the center bolt a, on which as a center the bridge swings, because the center pier and mechanism for swinging the bridge may be any of the common constructions.

B B are the approaches at each end of the bridge.

C C are the end piers or abutments on each side of the river, upon which the ends of the bridge rest, as usual, when closed.

D is the main cable, which runs in a conduit- E, as usual.

F is a pulley or drum secured orfixed upon a shaft f, which is mounted in bearings firmly secured in the abutment or pier C or approach B.

G is a loose pulley mounted upon the shaft f adjacent to the pulley or drum F. (See Fig. 3.)

The main cable D runs over one of the pulleys F or G, passes downward through avertical conduit or passage-way to the bed of the river, then around a pulley d at the bottom of the vertical conduit, to and through a conduit or passage-way H beneath the bed of the river, then around a pulley b, and upward through a vertical conduit or passage-way,

and over a pulley c, supported in the approach B or end pier or abutment C.

The arrangement ot' the main cable D on each side of the street is the saine, the parts on one side being a duplication of the parts on the opposite side with the cable running in the opposite direction, as indicated by arrows in Fig. 2.

A pulley c is placed in the conduit H beneath the river to guide the main cable D at the point where it passes the center pier of the bridge. The conduit H may be made of an iron pipe or other tube and bent to pass the center pier, as may be necessary. A vertical passage-way I is provided, leading down to the conduit H near the center pier o f the bridge, to give access to the pulley c for oiling, and also to give access to the conduit H whenever' such access becomes necessary.

.I is an idler-wheel, supported upon a shaft mounted in bearings on a sliding frame K. The sliding frame K is supported on suitable guides or frame la beneath the pathway of the bridge, as best shown in Fig. 2.

Lis a gear-wheel, which meshes with the idler-wheel J, and is supported upon a shaft Z, mounted in bearings upon the sliding frame K.

M is a gear-wheel, which is secured upon the shaft f, and mesheswith the idler-wheel J when the bridge is closed.

N is a pulley or drum secured upon the shaft- Z. y

O is a bridgecable, which runs over the drum or pulley N, then beneath the bridge or bridge-conduit to the opposite end of the bridge, then over a pulley o, supported upon a shaft at the opposite end of the bridge from the pulley N, then through the usual cableconduit to the driving-pulley N.

When the bridge is closed and the idlerl Iwheel .I engages with the gear-wheel M, the

drum or pulley N is driven by the main cable D through the intermediate gearing above described.

It will of course be understood that there are two bridge-cables O,.running in opposite directions and each driven by the main cable through intermediate gearing, as above described, the intermediate gearing of one bridge-cable being at the opposite end of the bridge to the intermediate gearing of the other bridge-cable.

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P is a lever, fulcrumed in a`sutable support in some convenient part of the bridge. This lever may also serve as the bridgelocking lever. This lever P is connected with the sliding frame K at one end of the bridge by a lever 7L and link t', and with the sliding frame K at the opposite end of the bridge by a link p and lever q. By means of this lever P and the connecting links and levers the bridge-tender can move the sliding frame K tiward the center of the bridge, throwing- Ille idler-wheels J out of mesh with and free from the gear-wheels M, so that the bridge can be turned or opened. YVhen the bridge is again closed, the idler-wheels can be again thrown into mesh with the wheels M and locked in that position by moving the frames K outward by the level` P.

In order to take up the slack of the bridgecables O, I provide weights m, one of which is supported upon each cable by a pulley, as shown in Figs. l and 2.

The main cable D runs over the pulleys or drums F when it is driving the bridge-cables through their intermediate gearing, and in order to prevent injury to the gearing by throwing the idler-wheel J into gear with the gear-wheel M when the bridge is closed,l provide a cable-shifter R, which has a frictionroller?1 on each side of the cable D. Then the bridge is closed the cable runs over the pulley or drum F,and when it is desired to stop the bridge-cable for opening the bridge or for other purposes the cable-shifter R is moved by a lever or other means to carry the cable D over onto the loose pulley G, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3.

When the cable D run's over the loose pulley' G, the shaft f is not driven by the cable, so that the gear-wheel M remains stationary, permitting the idler-wheel J to be thrown into or out of gear with the wheel M without injury thereto.

S is a brake on the cable-shifter R, which engages with the wheel or pulley F. lVhen the cable is shifted onto the loose pulley G, the brake S engages with the pulley F, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3, thereby stopping the wheel or pulley F and shaft f and the gear connected therewith. The brake S also holds the shaft f against rotation when the cable is running over the loose pulley G.

It is evident that the construction of the intermediate gear above described gives a positive connection between the main cable and the bridge-cables when in operation, and the arrangement of fast and loose pulleys on the shaftf gives a safe means for throwing the bridge-cables into and out of operation.

The sliding frames K, upon which the gearing for the bridgecables at each end of the bridge is supported, are locked firmly in position to engage the idler-wheels J with the wheels M by the lever P and connecting-links and levers.

A tightening-pulley g may be placed near the drum or pulley F, if desired, to increase the draft on the kpulley F, and a similar pulley or vother device may be placed upon the bridge near each drum N to increase the draft of the pulleys or drums N on the bridgecables.

That I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination,with a main cable and a gear-wh eel driven therefrom, of a bridge-cable and a driving-gear therefor, a sliding frame supportingthebridge-cable gearing, and mechanism for moving the sliding frame to throwits gear into orout of engagement with the gearwheel driven by the main cable, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. VThe combination of a main cable, a shaft f, a loose pulley and a fast pulley thereon, and a cable-shifter, with a bridgecable and gearing driven by gearing upon said shaft, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

3. The combination, with a main cable and gearing driven therefrom, of a bridge-cable, a sliding frame, gearing upon the sliding frame for driving the bridge-cable, a lever P, pivoted on the bridge, and bars connecting the lever P with the sliding frame, whereby the gearing is thrown into and out of engagement and locked in either position, substantially as specified.

4. The combination of a main cable, a shaft f, a loose pulley and a fast pulley thereon, with a cable-shifter, a brake to engage with a fast pulley, and a bridge-cable driven by gearing interposed between its driving-pulley and the shaft f, substantially as and'for the purpose specified.

GASPER R. RATTO. Witnesses:

HARRY T. J oNEs, ALBERT H. ADAMS.

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